CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK A Comprehensive Guide to Selecting the Right Capacitor for Your Specific Application 2777 Hwy 20 (315) 655-8710 [email protected] Cazenovia, NY 13035 knowlescapacitors.com CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................. 2 The Key Principles of Capacitance and How a Basic Capacitor Works .............................. 3 How Capacitors are Most Frequently Used in Electronic Circuits ............................. 6 Factors Affecting Capacitance .................. 9 Defining Dielectric Polarization .................. 11 Dielectric Properties ........................... 15 Characteristics of Ferroelectric Ceramics ......................... 19 Characteristics of Linear Dielectrics .............. 22 Dielectric Classification ......................... 24 Test Parameters and Electrical Properties .......... 27 Industry Test Standards Overview. 32 High Reliability Testing .......................... 34 Visual Standards For Chip Capacitors ............. 37 Chip Attachment and Termination Guidelines ...... 42 Dissipation Factor and Capacitive Reactance ..... 49 Selecting the Right Capacitor for Your Specific Application Needs ............................ 51 1 CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK INTRODUCTION At Knowles Precision Devices, our expertise in capacitor technology helps developers working on some of the world’s most demanding applications across the medical device, military and aerospace, telecommunications, and automotive industries. Thus, we brought together our top engineers to compile their extensive knowledge into a comprehensive capacitor fundamentals eBook. This eBook will cover the ins and outs of capacitors, including their properties, product classifications, test standards, and use cases, with the goal of helping you make informed decisions when selecting your capacitor technology. 2 CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK The Key Principles of Capacitance and How a Basic Capacitor Works What is Capacitance? Capacitance is the ability of a system (such as a component or circuit) to collect and hold energy in the form of electric charge. Capacitance value (C) is the ratio of the electric charge stored (Q) to the voltage applied (V), or C = Q/V. The charging current (I) is therefore expressed as I = dQ/dt = CdV/dt. The value of capacitance is defined as one farad when the voltage across the capacitor is one volt, and a charging current of one ampere flows for one second. C = Q/V = Coulomb/Volt = farad Because the farad is a very large unit of measurement and is not encountered in practical applications, fractions of the farad are commonly used, such as: • 1 picofarad (pF) = 10-12 farad • 1 nanofarad (nF) = 10-9 farad • 1 microfarad (µF) = 10-6 farad Capacitance is the ability of a system to collect and hold energy in the form of electric charge. What is a Capacitor? A capacitor is a passive electronic component that can store electric charge in an electric field. Unlike a battery, which stores energy and then gradually releases it, capacitors can be discharged in an instant. A basic unit consists of two conductors, or electrodes, separated from one another by an insulator, or dielectric (Figure 1). Electrode Basics To easily collect electric charge, the electrode must be a good conductor of electricity. Materials widely used in capacitor manufacturing include aluminum, copper, nickel, palladium, platinum, silver, and tantalum. Figure 1: Selecting the Right Capacitor for Your Specific Application Needs 3 CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK To easily collect electric charge, the electrode must be a good conductor of electricity. Depending on the manufacturing process used, the electrode may need to be unreactive with a high melting point. For example, the oxidizing atmosphere-fired ceramic capacitors manufactured at Knowles Precision Devices use a ceramic dielectric material with a sintering temperature of approximately 1,100 °C. To stop the electrode from melting during firing, a combination of silver and palladium is used. This method of manufacture is referred to as the precious metal electrode (PME) system. Dielectric Basics To store greater amounts of electric charge, the dielectric must be a good insulator, the properties of which largely determine the electrical behavior of the device. Dielectrics are characterized by their ability to store electrical charge and their intrinsic responses to an electric field, namely capacitance change, loss characteristics, insulation resistance, and dielectric strength, as well as the aging rate and the temperature dependence of these properties. The dielectric constant, or relative permittivity εr, refers to a material’s ability to store electrical energy in an electric field. It is the dominant characteristic that determines the capacitance value attainable at a given size and voltage. In other words, the higher the dielectric constant, the greater the capacitance for a particular capacitor design. Dielectric materials commonly used in capacitor manufacture include ceramics, porcelain, metal oxides, mica, and plastic film (Table 1). DIELECTRIC CONSTANTS FOR VARIOUS MATERIALS Vacuum 1.0 Air 1.004 Mylar 3 Paper 4-6 Mica 4-8 Glass 3.7-19 Alumina (Al2O 3) 9 Titania (TiO2) 85-170, (varies with crystal axis) Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) 1500 Formulated Ceramics With Discrete 20-18,000 Characteristics Table 1: Dielectric Constants for Various Materials For example, ceramic capacitors can be categorized into two main types based on if they’re using C0G/ NP0 dielectric (which have εr values between 20 and 100) or X7R dielectric (which have εr values of between 2,000 and 3,000). 4 CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK To store greater amounts of electric charge, the dielectric must be a good insulator. Capacitor Construction The most basic type of capacitor is a single layer that consists of a layer of dielectric material sandwiched between a positive and a negative electrode. A multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) takes this concept and multiplies the number of layers to increase the available capacitance (Figure 2). Layers of ceramic are built up using a screen-printing process and are interleaved with electrodes of alternating polarity. The like polarity electrodes are then joined using a termination material. The termination can then be attached to wires or legs to form a radial leaded MLCC or electroplated to form a surface mount MLCC. Figure 2. Single Layer Capacitor (Left) Versus a Multilayer Capacitor (Right) 5 CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK How Capacitors Are Most Frequently Used in Electronic Circuits Now that you have a basic understanding of capacitance and how capacitors work, let’s focus on how capacitors are most frequently used in electronic circuits. As previously mentioned, capacitor technology covers a wide range of product types, based on a multitude of dielectric materials and physical configurations, yet all are basically storage devices for electric energy used in various applications in the electronic industry. The primary use cases for capacitors include: • Discharge of stored energy • Block of direct current (DC) signals • Frequency discrimination • Smoothing and energy storage Let’s take a closer look at each of these capacitor use cases. Discharge of Stored Energy Discharge or stored energy is one of the most basic applications of a capacitor. This involves the generation of a current pulse by discharge of a capacitor in the circuit. For example, in photography, the electronic flash on a camera must synchronize with the shutter opening to emit a burst of light in a fraction of a second. A large capacitor is charged to several hundred volts using the camera’s battery, and when the shutter button is pressed, the energy is instantly discharged through the xenon flash tube to produce a bright flash. After the shot is taken, the capacitor must spend some time recharging before it can be used again (Figure 3). Figure 3: Photography is a Common Consumer Application Where Capacitors are Used 6 CAPACITOR FUNDAMENTALS EBOOK Blocking of DC Signals Another important use of capacitors is to stop DC but allow alternating current (AC) from one part of an electronic circuit to another. Capacitors, once charged, act as high impedance elements and thereby block the DC from specified portions of a circuit. In an AC circuit with varying (alternating positive and negative) voltage applied, a current will flow first in one direction, then in the other as the capacitor charges and discharges. This allows alternating current to appear on either side of the component so that sections of a circuit can be coupled together. The current Figure 4: Another Common Consumer Application Where does not flow physically through the Capacitors are Used capacitor since the dielectric is an insulator. Continuous current surges are the result of the change in voltage across the capacitor. By blocking the DC and permitting the passage of AC, the device can be used inparallel with another circuit element to allow AC to bypass the element without passing the DC portion of the signal. Capacitors are regularly used this way in television, radio, and audio amplifiers (Figure 4). Capacitors, once charged, act as high impedance elements and thereby block the DC from specified portions of a circuit. Frequency Discrimination Because of its capacitance value, a capacitor is nonresponsive to low frequency signals, making it useful for segregating an input signal with mixed frequencies. For capacitors in an AC circuit, the current flow increases with frequency, whereas the